The Matthews Ridge-based Guyana Manganese Inc (GMI) has advertised vacancies for several positions at the company including a mining engineer.
In an advertisement published in Saturday’s edition of the Stabroek News, GMI announced vacancies for heavy equipment operators, truck drivers, and a mining engineer.
Candidates must be 18 to 55 years old and must be able to provide national identification and NIS cards, TIN certificate, valid police clearance, medical certificate, and proof of qualifications. They must also present valid licences for a motor tractor and lorry where applicable.
Candidates for mining engineer must possess at least a Diploma in a related field and three years of working experience. Interested candidates can send their Curriculum Vitae to gmi@bosaigmi.com.
Over a week ago, a section of the reservoir belonging to Chinese-owned GMI collapsed, releasing a torrent of water that washed away a section of the road which connects Matthews Ridge to Port Kaituma and flooded surrounding areas.
Region One Chairman Brentnol Ashley said that a compromised drainage system is suspected to be the primary cause of the collapse. He added that from all indications, the company did not change drainage pipes that were laid years ago. The integrity of the pipes, he opined, is believed to have been compromised by the volume of water in the reservoir.
The collapse of the reservoir has raised questions about GMI’s safety practices. Ashley told Stabroek News on Saturday that there has been no update on the situation, but noted that the company is still repairing the road that was washed away and is providing water to residents.
He informed that the outcome of the investigation done by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has not yet been made public.
GMI is yet to comment on the situation despite several attempts by this newspaper to contact the company.
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for GMI’s Region One project was approved by the EPA in May of this year.
The mine was closed in March of 2019 when workers carrying out scoping works took ill and two employees – 47-year-old Zhenglong Zong, and 45-year-old Zengguo Ji, both Chinese nationals – subsequently died from what the company said was leptospirosis and respiratory failure
After the two workers succumbed, the Chinese government made a request for the 10 sick workers – all Chinese nationals – to be flown back home for medical attention. This request was granted and the men were flown back to their home country.
